Periodic heat waves-induced neuronal etiology in the elderly is mediated by gut-liver-brain axis: a transcriptome profiling approach.

Heat stress exposure in intermittent heat waves and subsequent exposure during war theaters pose a clinical challenge that can lead to multi-organ dysfunction and long-term complications in the elderly. Using an aged mouse model and high-throughput sequencing, this study investigated the molecular dynamics of the liver-brain connection during heat stress exposure. Distinctive gene expression patterns induced by periodic heat stress emerged in both brain and liver tissues. An altered transcriptome profile showed heat stress-induced altered acute phase response pathways, causing neural, hepatic, and systemic inflammation and impaired synaptic plasticity. Results also demonstrated that proinflammatory molecules such as S100B, IL-17, IL-33, and neurological disease signaling pathways were upregulated, while protective pathways like aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling were downregulated. In parallel, Rantes, IRF7, NOD1/2, TREM1, and hepatic injury signaling pathways were upregulated. Furthermore, current research identified Orosomucoid 2 (ORM2) in the liver as one of the mediators of the liver-brain axis due to heat exposure. In conclusion, the transcriptome profiling in elderly heat-stressed mice revealed a coordinated network of liver-brain axis pathways with increased hepatic ORM2 secretion, possibly due to gut inflammation and dysbiosis. The above secretion of ORM2 may impact the brain through a leaky blood-brain barrier, thus emphasizing intricate multi-organ crosstalk.

Heat-Stress Impacts on Developing Bovine Oocytes: Unraveling Epigenetic Changes, Oxidative Stress, and Developmental Resilience.

Extreme temperature during summer may lead to heat stress in cattle and compromise their productivity. It also poses detrimental impacts on the developmental capacity of bovine budding oocytes, which halt their fertility. To mitigate the adverse effects of heat stress, it is necessary to investigate the mechanisms through which it affects the developmental capacity of oocytes. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the impact of heat stress on the epigenetic modifications in bovine oocytes and embryos, as well as on oocyte developmental capacity, reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential, apoptosis, transzonal projections, and gene expression levels. Our results showed that heat stress significantly reduced the expression levels of the epigenetic modifications from histone H1, histone H2A, histone H2B, histone H4, DNA methylation, and DNA hydroxymethylation at all stages of the oocyte and embryo. Similarly, heat stress significantly reduced cleavage rate, blastocyst rate, oocyte mitochondrial-membrane potential level, adenosine-triphosphate (ATP) level, mitochondrial DNA copy number, and transzonal projection level. It was also found that heat stress affected mitochondrial distribution in oocytes and significantly increased reactive oxygen species, apoptosis levels and mitochondrial autophagy levels. Our findings suggest that heat stress significantly impacts the expression levels of genes related to oocyte developmental ability, the cytoskeleton, mitochondrial function, and epigenetic modification, lowering their competence during the summer season.

SUMOylated Golgin45 associates with PML-NB to transcriptionally regulate lipid metabolism genes during heat shock stress.

Golgin tethers are known to mediate vesicular transport in the secretory pathway, whereas it is relatively unknown whether they may mediate cellular stress response within the cell. Here, we describe a cellular stress response during heat shock stress via SUMOylation of a Golgin tether, Golgin45. We found that Golgin45 is a SUMOylated Golgin via SUMO1 under steady state condition. Upon heat shock stress, the Golgin enters the nucleus by interacting with Importin-ß2 and gets further modified by SUMO3. Importantly, SUMOylated Golgin45 appears to interact with PML and SUMO-deficient Golgin45 mutant functions as a dominant negative for PML-NB formation during heat shock stress, suppressing transcription of lipid metabolism genes. These results indicate that Golgin45 may play a role in heat stress response by transcriptional regulation of lipid metabolism genes in SUMOylation-dependent fashion.

Genomic regions, candidate genes, and pleiotropic variants associated with physiological and anatomical indicators of heat stress response in lactating sows.

BACKGROUND: Heat stress (HS) poses significant threats to the sustainability of livestock production. Genetically improving heat tolerance could enhance animal welfare and minimize production losses during HS events. Measuring phenotypic indicators of HS response and understanding their genetic background are crucial steps to optimize breeding schemes for improved climatic resilience. The identification of genomic regions and candidate genes influencing the traits of interest, including variants with pleiotropic effects, enables the refinement of genotyping panels used to perform genomic prediction of breeding values and contributes to unraveling the biological mechanisms influencing heat stress response. Therefore, the main objectives of this study were to identify genomic regions, candidate genes, and potential pleiotropic variants significantly associated with indicators of HS response in lactating sows using imputed whole-genome sequence (WGS) data. Phenotypic records for 18 traits and genomic information from 1,645 lactating sows were available for the study. The genotypes from the PorcineSNP50K panel containing 50,703 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were imputed to WGS and after quality control, 1,622 animals and 7,065,922 SNPs were included in the analyses. RESULTS: A total of 1,388 unique SNPs located on sixteen chromosomes were found to be associated with 11 traits. Twenty gene ontology terms and 11 biological pathways were shown to be associated with variability in ear skin temperature, shoulder skin temperature, rump skin temperature, tail skin temperature, respiration rate, panting score, vaginal temperature automatically measured every 10 min, vaginal temperature measured at 0800 h, hair density score, body condition score, and ear area. Seven, five, six, two, seven, 15, and 14 genes with potential pleiotropic effects were identified for indicators of skin temperature, vaginal temperature, animal temperature, respiration rate, thermoregulatory traits, anatomical traits, and all traits, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Physiological and anatomical indicators of HS response in lactating sows are heritable but highly polygenic. The candidate genes found are associated with important gene ontology terms and biological pathways related to heat shock protein activities, immune response, and cellular oxidative stress. Many of the candidate genes with pleiotropic effects are involved in catalytic activities to reduce cell damage from oxidative stress and cellular mechanisms related to immune response.

Interactions between chaperone and energy storage networks during the evolution of Legionella pneumophila under heat shock.

Waterborne transmission of the bacterium Legionella pneumophila has emerged as a major cause of severe nosocomial infections of major public health impact. The major route of transmission involves the uptake of aerosolized bacteria, often from the contaminated hot water systems of large buildings. Public health regulations aimed at controlling the mesophilic pathogen are generally concerned with acute pasteurization and maintaining high temperatures at the heating systems and throughout the plumbing of hot water systems, but L. pneumophila is often able to survive these treatments due to both bacterium-intrinsic and environmental factors. Previous work has established an experimental evolution system to model the observations of increased heat resistance in repeatedly but unsuccessfully pasteurized L. pneumophila populations. Here, we show rapid fixation of novel alleles in lineages selected for resistance to heat shock and shifts in mutational profile related to increases in the temperature of selection. Gene-level and nucleotide-level parallelisms between independently-evolving lineages show the centrality of the DnaJ/DnaK chaperone system in the heat resistance of L. pneumophila. Inference of epistatic interactions through reverse genetics shows an unexpected interaction between DnaJ/DnaK and the polyhydroxybutyrate-accumulation energy storage mechanism used by the species to survive long-term starvation in low-nutrient environments.

Analysis of drought and heat stress response genes in rice using co-expression network and differentially expressed gene analyses.

Studies on Oryza sativa (rice) are crucial for improving agricultural productivity and ensuring global sustenance security, especially considering the increasing drought and heat stress caused by extreme climate change. Currently, the genes and mechanisms underlying drought and heat resistance in rice are not fully understood, and the scope for enhancing the development of new strains remains considerable. To accurately identify the key genes related to drought and heat stress responses in rice, multiple datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were integrated in this study. A co-expression network was constructed using a Weighted Correlation Network Analysis (WGCNA) algorithm. We further distinguished the core network and intersected it with differentially expressed genes and multiple expression datasets for screening. Differences in gene expression levels were verified using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). OsDjC53, MBF1C, BAG6, HSP23.2, and HSP21.9 were found to be associated with the heat stress response, and it is also possible that UGT83A1 and OsCPn60a1, although not directly related, are affected by drought stress. This study offers significant insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying stress responses in rice, which could promote the development of stress-tolerant rice breeds.

Investigation of heat stress responses and adaptation mechanisms by integrative metabolome and transcriptome analysis in tea plants (Camellia sinensis).

Extreme high temperature has deleterious impact on the yield and quality of tea production, which has aroused the attention of growers and breeders. However, the mechanisms by which tea plant varieties respond to extreme environmental heat is not clear. In this study, we analyzed physiological indices, metabolites and transcriptome differences in three different heat-tolerant tea plant F1 hybrid progenies. Results showed that the antioxidant enzyme activity, proline, and malondialdehyde were significantly decreased in heat-sensitive 'FWS' variety, and the accumulation of reactive oxygen molecules such as H2O2 and O2- was remarkably increased during heat stress. Metabolomic analysis was used to investigate the metabolite accumulation pattern of different varieties in response to heat stress. The result showed that a total of 810 metabolites were identified and more than 300 metabolites were differentially accumulated. Transcriptional profiling of three tea varieties found that such genes encoding proteins with chaperon domains were preferentially expressed in heat-tolerant varieties under heat stress, including universal stress protein (USP32, USP-like), chaperonin-like protein 2 (CLP2), small heat shock protein (HSP18.1), and late embryogenesis abundant protein (LEA5). Combining metabolomic with transcriptomic analyses discovered that the flavonoids biosynthesis pathway was affected by heat stress and most flavonols were up-regulated in heat-tolerant varieties, which owe to the preferential expression of key FLS genes controlling flavonol biosynthesis. Take together, molecular chaperons, or chaperon-like proteins, flavonols accumulation collaboratively contributed to the heat stress adaptation in tea plant. The present study elucidated the differences in metabolite accumulation and gene expression patterns among three different heat-tolerant tea varieties under extreme ambient high temperatures, which helps to reveal the regulatory mechanisms of tea plant adaptation to heat stress, and provides a reference for the breeding of heat-tolerant tea plant varieties.

Identification and characterization of the CRK gene family in the wheat genome and analysis of their expression profile in response to high temperature-induced male sterility.

Cysteine-rich receptor-like kinases (CRKs) play many important roles during plant development, including defense responses under both biotic and abiotic stress, reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis, callose deposition and programmed cell death (PCD). However, there are few studies on the involvement of the CRK family in male sterility due to heat stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In this study, a genome-wide characterization of the CRK family was performed to investigate the structural and functional attributes of the wheat CRKs in anther sterility caused by heat stress. A total of 95 CRK genes were unevenly distributed on 18 chromosomes, with the most genes distributed on chromosome 2B. Paralogous homologous genes with Ka/Ks ratios less than 1 may have undergone strong purifying selection during evolution and are more functionally conserved. The collinearity analysis results of CRK genes showed that wheat and Arabidopsis (A. thaliana), foxtail millet, Brachypodium distachyon (B. distachyon), and rice have three, 12, 15, and 11 pairs of orthologous genes, respectively. In addition, the results of the network interactions of genes and miRNAs showed that five miRNAs were in the hub of the interactions map, namely tae-miR9657b-5p, tae-miR9780, tae-miR9676-5p, tae-miR164, and tae-miR531. Furthermore, qRT-PCR validation of the six TaCRK genes showed that they play key roles in the development of the mononuclear stage anthers, as all six genes were expressed at highly significant levels in heat-stressed male sterile mononuclear stage anthers compared to normal anthers. We hypothesized that the TaCRK gene is significant in the process of high-temperature-induced sterility in wheat based on the combination of anther phenotypes, paraffin sections, and qRT-PCR data. These results improve our understanding of their relationship.

Thermo-priming triggers species-specific physiological and transcriptome responses in Mediterranean seagrasses.

Heat-priming improves plants' tolerance to a recurring heat stress event. The underlying molecular mechanisms of heat-priming are largely unknown in seagrasses. Here, ad hoc mesocosm experiments were conducted with two Mediterranean seagrass species, Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa. Plants were first exposed to heat-priming, followed by a heat-triggering event. A comprehensive assessment of plant stress response across different levels of biological organization was performed at the end of the triggering event. Morphological and physiological results showed an improved response of heat-primed P. oceanica plants while in C. nodosa both heat- and non-primed plants enhanced their growth rates at the end of the triggering event. As resulting from whole transcriptome sequencing, molecular functions related to several cellular compartments and processes were involved in the response to warming of non-primed plants, while the response of heat-primed plants involved a limited group of processes. Our results suggest that seagrasses acquire a primed state during the priming event, that eventually gives plants the ability to induce a more energy-effective response when the thermal stress event recurs. Different species may differ in their ability to perform an improved heat stress response after priming. This study provides pioneer molecular insights into the emerging topic of seagrass stress priming and may benefit future studies in the field.

Entamoeba histolytica: In Silico and In Vitro Oligomerization of EhHSTF5 Enhances Its Binding to the HSE of the EhPgp5 Gene Promoter.

Throughout its lifecycle, Entamoeba histolytica encounters a variety of stressful conditions. This parasite possesses Heat Shock Response Elements (HSEs) which are crucial for regulating the expression of various genes, aiding in its adaptation and survival. These HSEs are regulated by Heat Shock Transcription Factors (EhHSTFs). Our research has identified seven such factors in the parasite, designated as EhHSTF1 through to EhHSTF7. Significantly, under heat shock conditions and in the presence of the antiamoebic compound emetine, EhHSTF5, EhHSTF6, and EhHSTF7 show overexpression, highlighting their essential role in gene response to these stressors. Currently, only EhHSTF7 has been confirmed to recognize the HSE as a promoter of the EhPgp5 gene (HSE_EhPgp5), leaving the binding potential of the other EhHSTFs to HSEs yet to be explored. Consequently, our study aimed to examine, both in vitro and in silico, the oligomerization, and binding capabilities of the recombinant EhHSTF5 protein (rEhHSTF5) to HSE_EhPgp5. The in vitro results indicate that the oligomerization of rEhHSTF5 is concentration-dependent, with its dimeric conformation showing a higher affinity for HSE_EhPgp5 than its monomeric state. In silico analysis suggests that the alpha 3 α-helix (α3-helix) of the DNA-binding domain (DBD5) of EhHSTF5 is crucial in binding to the major groove of HSE, primarily through hydrogen bonding and salt-bridge interactions. In summary, our results highlight the importance of oligomerization in enhancing the affinity of rEhHSTF5 for HSE_EhPgp5 and demonstrate its ability to specifically recognize structural motifs within HSE_EhPgp5. These insights significantly contribute to our understanding of one of the potential molecular mechanisms employed by this parasite to efficiently respond to various stressors, thereby enabling successful adaptation and survival within its host environment.

Integrated analysis of transcriptome and miRNAome reveals the heat stress response of Pinellia ternata seedlings.

Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Briet., a valuable herb native to China, is susceptible to the "sprout tumble" phenomenon because of high temperatures, resulting in a significant yield reduction. However, the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying the response of P. ternata to heat stress are not well understood. In this study, we integrated transcriptome and miRNAome sequencing to identify heat-response genes, microRNAs (miRNAs), and key miRNA-target pairs in P. ternata that differed between heat-stress and room-temperature conditions. Transcriptome analysis revealed extensive reprogramming of 4,960 genes across various categories, predominantly associated with cellular and metabolic processes, responses to stimuli, biological regulation, cell parts, organelles, membranes, and catalytic and binding activities. miRNAome sequencing identified 1,597 known/conserved miRNAs that were differentially expressed between the two test conditions. According to the analysis, genes and miRNAs associated with the regulation of transcription, DNA template, transcription factor activity, and sequence-specific DNA binding pathways may play a major role in the resistance to heat stress in P. ternata. Integrated analysis of the transcriptome and miRNAome expression data revealed 41 high-confidence miRNA-mRNA pairs, forming 25 modules. MYB-like proteins and calcium-responsive transcription coactivators may play an integral role in heat-stress resistance in P. ternata. Additionally, the candidate genes and miRNAs were subjected to quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to validate their expression patterns. These results offer a foundation for future studies exploring the mechanisms and critical genes involved in heat-stress resistance in P. ternata.

Robust identification of interactions between heat-stress responsive genes in the chicken brain using Bayesian networks and augmented expression data.

Bayesian networks represent a useful tool to explore interactions within biological systems. The aims of this study were to identify a reduced number of genes associated with a stress condition in chickens (Gallus gallus) and to unravel their interactions by implementing a Bayesian network approach. Initially, one publicly available dataset (3 control vs. 3 heat-stressed chickens) was used to identify the stress signal, represented by 25 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The dataset was augmented by looking for the 25 DEGs in other four publicly available databases. Bayesian network algorithms were used to discover the informative relationships between the DEGs. Only ten out of the 25 DEGs displayed interactions. Four of them were Heat Shock Proteins that could be playing a key role, especially under stress conditions, where maintaining the correct functioning of the cell machinery might be crucial. One of the DEGs is an open reading frame whose function is yet unknown, highlighting the power of Bayesian networks in knowledge discovery. Identifying an initial stress signal, augmenting it by combining other databases, and finally learning the structure of Bayesian networks allowed us to find genes closely related to stress, with the possibility of further exploring the system in future studies.

Systematic identification and characterization of microRNAs with target genes involved in high night temperature stress at the filling stage of rice.

High night temperature stress is one of the main environmental factors affecting rice yield and quality. More and more evidence shows that microRNA (miRNA) plays an important role in various abiotic stresses. However, the molecular network of miRNA regulation on rice tolerance to high night temperatures remains unclear. Here, small RNA, transcriptome and degradome sequencing were integrated to identify differentially expressed miRNAs, genes, and key miRNA-target gene pairs in rice heat-sensitive and heat-tolerant lines at the filling stage suffering from high night temperature stress. It was discovered that there were notable differences in the relative expression of 102 miRNAs between the two rice lines under stress. Meanwhile, 5263 and 5405 mRNAs were differentially expressed in the heat-sensitive line and heat-tolerant line, and functional enrichment analysis revealed that these genes were involved in heat-related processes and pathways. The miRNAs-mRNAs target relationship was further verified by degradome sequencing. Eventually, 49 miRNAs-222 mRNAs target pairs with reverse expression patterns showed significant relative expression changes between the heat-tolerant and the heat-sensitive line, being suggested to be responsible for the heat tolerance difference of these two rice lines. Functional analysis of these 222 mRNA transcripts showed that high night temperature-responsive miRNAs targeted these mRNAs involved in many heat-related biological processes, such as transcription regulation, chloroplast regulation, mitochondrion regulation, protein folding, hormone regulation and redox process. This study identified possible miRNA-mRNA regulation relationships in response to high night temperature stress in rice and potentially contributed to heat resistance breeding of rice in the future.

An adaptive biomolecular condensation response is conserved across environmentally divergent species.

Cells must sense and respond to sudden maladaptive environmental changes-stresses-to survive and thrive. Across eukaryotes, stresses such as heat shock trigger conserved responses: growth arrest, a specific transcriptional response, and biomolecular condensation of protein and mRNA into structures known as stress granules under severe stress. The composition, formation mechanism, adaptive significance, and even evolutionary conservation of these condensed structures remain enigmatic. Here we provide a remarkable view into stress-triggered condensation, its evolutionary conservation and tuning, and its integration into other well-studied aspects of the stress response. Using three morphologically near-identical budding yeast species adapted to different thermal environments and diverged by up to 100 million years, we show that proteome-scale biomolecular condensation is tuned to species-specific thermal niches, closely tracking corresponding growth and transcriptional responses. In each species, poly(A)-binding protein-a core marker of stress granules-condenses in isolation at species-specific temperatures, with conserved molecular features and conformational changes modulating condensation. From the ecological to the molecular scale, our results reveal previously unappreciated levels of evolutionary selection in the eukaryotic stress response, while establishing a rich, tractable system for further inquiry.

SlCathB2 as a negative regulator mediates a novel regulatory pathway upon high-temperature stress response in tomato.

High-temperature stress (HS) is a major abiotic stress that affects the yield and quality of plants. Cathepsin B-like protease 2 (CathB2) has been reported to play a role in developmental processes and stress response, but its involvement in HS response has not been identified. Here, overexpression, virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS)and RNA-sequencing analysis were performed to uncover the functional characteristics of SlCathB2-1 and SlCathB2-2 genes for HS response in tomato. The results showed that overexpression of SlCathB2-1 and SlCathB2-2 resulted in reduced heat tolerance of tomato to HS while silencing the genes resulted in enhanced heat tolerance. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that the heat shock proteins (HSPs) exhibited higher expression in WT than in SlCathB2-1 and SlCathB2-2 overexpression lines. Furthermore, the possible molecular regulation mechanism underlying SlCathB2-1 and SlCathB2-2-mediated response to HS was investigated. We found that SlCathB2-1 and SlCathB2-2 negatively regulated antioxidant capacity by regulating a set of genes involved in antioxidant defence and reactive oxygen species (ROS) signal transduction. We also demonstrated that SlCathB2-1 and SlCathB2-2 positively regulated ER-stress-induced PCD (ERSID) by regulating unfolded protein response (UPR) gene expression. Furthermore, SlCathB2-1 and SlCathB2-2 interacting with proteasome subunit beta type-4 (PBA4) was identified in the ERSID pathway using yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) analysis and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) screening. Overall, the study identified both SlCathB2-1 and SlCathB2-2 as new negative regulators to HS and presented a new HS response pathway. This provided the foundation for the construction of heat-tolerant molecular mechanisms and breeding strategies aiming to improve the thermotolerance of tomato plants.

Genetic diversity of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) to mitigate abiotic stress: Drought, heat, and their combination.

Drought and heat are the main abiotic constraints affecting durum wheat production. This study aimed to screen for tolerance to drought, heat, and combined stresses in durum wheat, at the juvenile stage under controlled conditions. Five durum wheat genotypes, including four landraces and one improved genotype, were used to test their tolerance to abiotic stress. After 15 days of growing, treatments were applied as three drought levels (100, 50, and 25% field capacity (FC)), three heat stress levels (24, 30, and 35°C), and three combined treatments (100% FC at 24°C, 50% FC at 30°C and 25% FC at 35°C). The screening was performed using a set of morpho-physiological, and biochemical traits. The results showed that the tested stresses significantly affect all measured parameters. The dry matter content (DM) decreased by 37.1% under heat stress (35°C), by 37.3% under severe drought stress (25% FC), and by 53.2% under severe combined stress (25% FC at 35°C). Correlation analyses of drought and heat stress confirmed that aerial part length, dry matter content, hydrogen peroxide content, catalase, and Glutathione peroxidase activities could be efficient screening criteria for both stresses. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that only the landrace Aouija tolerated the three studied stresses, while Biskri and Hedhba genotypes were tolerant to drought and heat stresses and showed the same sensitivity under combined stress. Nevertheless, improved genotype Karim and the landrace Hmira were the most affected genotypes by drought, against a minimum growth for the Hmira genotype under heat stress. The results showed that combined drought and heat stresses had a more pronounced impact than simple effects. In addition, the tolerance of durum wheat to drought and heat stresses involves several adjustments of morpho-physiological and biochemical responses, which are proportional to the stress intensity.

Atypical heat shock transcription factor HSF5 is critical for male meiotic prophase under non-stress conditions.

Meiotic prophase progression is differently regulated in males and females. In males, pachytene transition during meiotic prophase is accompanied by robust alteration in gene expression. However, how gene expression is regulated differently to ensure meiotic prophase completion in males remains elusive. Herein, we identify HSF5 as a male germ cell-specific heat shock transcription factor (HSF) for meiotic prophase progression. Genetic analyzes and single-cell RNA-sequencing demonstrate that HSF5 is essential for progression beyond the pachytene stage under non-stress conditions rather than heat stress. Chromatin binding analysis in vivo and DNA-binding assays in vitro suggest that HSF5 binds to promoters in a subset of genes associated with chromatin organization. HSF5 recognizes a DNA motif different from typical heat shock elements recognized by other canonical HSFs. This study suggests that HSF5 is an atypical HSF that is required for the gene expression program for pachytene transition during meiotic prophase in males.

Integrated analysis of intestinal microbiota and transcriptome reveals that a coordinated interaction of the endocrine, immune system and gut microbiota response to heat stress in Litopenaeus vannamei.

Due to the ongoing global warming, the risk of heatwaves in the oceans is continuously increasing while our understanding of the physiological response of Litopenaeus vannamei under extreme temperature conditions remains limited. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the physiological responses of L. vannamei under heat stress. Our results indicated that as temperature rose, the structure of intestinal and hepatopancreatic tissues was damaged sequentially. Activity of immune-related enzymes (acid phosphatase/alkaline phosphatase) initially increased before decreased, while antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and glutathione-S transferase) activity and malondialdehyde content increased with rising temperature. In addition, the total antioxidant capacity decreased with rising temperature. With the rising temperature, there was a significant increase in the expression of caspase-3, heat shock protein 70, lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-α, transcriptional enhanced associate domain and yorkie in intestinal and hepatopancreatic tissues. Following heat stress, the number of potentially beneficial bacteria (Rhodobacteraceae and Gemmonbacter) increased which maintain balance and promote vitamin synthesis. Intestinal transcriptome analysis revealed 852 differentially expressed genes in the heat stress group compared with the control group. KEGG functional annotation results showed that the endocrine system was the most abundant in Organismal systems followed by the immune system. These results indicated that heat stress leads to tissue damage in shrimp, however the shrimp may respond to stress through a coordinated interaction strategy of the endocrine system, immune system and gut microbiota. This study revealed the response mechanism of L. vannamei to acute heat stress and potentially provided a theoretical foundation for future research on shrimp environmental adaptations.

Whole genome discovery of regulatory genes responsible for the response of chicken to heat stress.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are functional bridges connecting the genome with phenotypes by interacting with DNA, mRNA, and proteins. Using publically available acute heat stress (AHS)-related RNA-seq data, we discovered novel lncRNAs and tested their association with AHS along with ~ 8800 known lncRNAs and ~ 28,000 mRNA transcripts. Our pipeline discovered a total of 145 potentially novel-lncRNAs. One of them (Fishcomb_p-value = 0.06) along with another novel transcript (annotated as protein-coding; Fishcomb_p-value = 0.03) were identified as significantly associated with AHS. We found five known-lncRNAs and 134 mRNAs transcripts that were significantly associated with AHS. Four novel lncRNAs interact cis-regulated with 12 mRNA transcripts and are targeted by 11 miRNAs. Also six meta-lncRNAs associate with 134 meta-mRNAs through trans-acting co-expression, each targeted by 15 and 216 miRNAs, respectively. Three of the known-lncRNAs significantly co-expressed with almost 97 of the significant mRNAs (Pearson correlation p-value < 0.05). We report the mentioned three known-lncRNAs (ENSGALT00000099876, ENSGALT00000107573, and ENSGALT00000106323) as the most, significantly regulatory elements of AHS in chicken. It can be concluded that in order to alleviate the adverse effects of AHS on chicken, the manipulation of the three regulatory lncRNAs could lead to a more desirable result than the manipulation of the most significant mRNAs.

Microbial-transcriptome integrative analysis of heat stress effects on amino acid metabolism and lipid peroxidation in poultry jejunum.

Despite the significant threat of heat stress to livestock animals, only a few studies have considered the potential relationship between broiler chickens and their microbiota. Therefore, this study examined microbial modifications, transcriptional changes and host-microbiome interactions using a predicted metabolome data-based approach to understand the impact of heat stress on poultry. After the analysis, the host functional enrichment analysis revealed that pathways related to lipid and protein metabolism were elevated under heat stress conditions. In contrast, pathways related to the cell cycle were suppressed under normal environmental temperatures. In line with the transcriptome analysis, the microbial analysis results indicate that taxonomic changes affect lipid degradation. Heat stress engendered statistically significant difference in the abundance of 11 microorganisms, including Bacteroides and Peptostreptococcacea. Together, integrative approach analysis suggests that microbiota-induced metabolites affect host fatty acid peroxidation metabolism, which is correlated with the gene families of Acyl-CoA dehydrogenase long chain (ACADL), Acyl-CoA Oxidase (ACOX) and Acetyl-CoA Acyltransferase (ACAA). This integrated approach provides novel insights into heat stress problems and identifies potential biomarkers associated with heat stress.